THI Montage Competition

The Halo Insider is hosting a montage competition. They've got cash, prizes, and publicity on the line for the winners. Want in? Hit the jump below for more details.

"This is a competition that will offer you a chance to get your name out there, and get you an automatic upload to Airguitar901 (over 18,000 subscribers!) We are looking for 100% Halo 3 Gameplay and the length we accept is 3-15 minutes.

'MLG Requiem v3' Map Variant

Might sound like a recipe for a drink (a non-alcoholic one, if you're underage), but nope, we're talking about a map. If you're looking for some custom content designed to fill the competitive role, might want to check out MLG Requiem v3. There's a nicely done teaser trailer and a link to read all about it and download the map below.

"MLG Requiem v3 is the combined work of two of the great designers and Forgers at ForgeHub, Insane54 and Sir Toppum Hat1. Enjoy competitive gameplay with an original twist!"

'Run' - Halo Halloween Machinima

If you forgot that Halloween was right around the corner, Tommy92L has a moody reminder for you. Mainly spooky scenery, but it's only a little over four minutes and it's nicely done. You should check it out.

Halo 3: ODST ViDoc 'Dramatis Personae'

Unmasking Halo 3: ODST's characters.

Now, don't get all worked up. We think this is a pretty sweet ViDoc, but if you've already played through Halo 3: ODST you're not going to find any super awesome and totally revelatory information. What you will find is a nice little behind the scenes look at the cast of characters straight from the ODST development team. And a whole mess of spoilers. And a lady with balls.

Originally intended as an Intel (Extras) exclusive for the folks who picked up and played through the game, we've made it live on our YouTube channel as it went up prematurely on Marketplace earlier this morning. Since it's out early, we don't have the ultra high quality, direct download stuff you crave, but we're working right now to get those up and running too. Expect delivery within a few days. You should also expect to see the video start to spring up inside ODST shortly as well (if it's not there already.)

Halo 3: ODST ViDoc "Dramatis Personae"

"Get the inside perspective from the storytellers at Bungie and step into the boots of the new cast of characters fighting for survival inside New Mombasa. From the battle-tested team of ODSTs to the civilians' desperate plight, the team at Bungie knew the stakes were high. See how they layered an ensemble cast into a combat-effective story, and then brought performance and sound together to cast light and life into the darkened city of New Mombasa and Halo 3: ODST."

Flubber Rod Shot

Bouncy, bouncy.

R for Rodzilla caught a Fuel Rod on film doing some wild things. Cable says this is only possible if the initial shot was taken at exactly 45 degrees from the initial surface that deflects the shot. I say that's pretty awesome. Check it out.

Halo 3: ODST Landscape Montage

"My boyfriend and I (yes, I am a woman) have played campaign quite a few times and noticed all of the beautiful landscapes, whether its peaceful or the world being torn apart, its still wonderful to see. Please take a moment to watch what you have been missing if you just ran through the campaign just to get all of the achievements, Enjoy."

XForgery's Halloween Event

XForgery's Halloween Event starts with a story and ends with you winning some prizes. If you're lucky enough. Want to make a spooky stand on Halloween? Hit the link below.

"You're hiding in a room as the last man standing, with two shotgun shells left in your gun and a half dozen zombies closing in on your location. They come foaming at the mouth, ready to rip that helmet off and dig into your cranium for some delicious brains. It won't be too long now until this becomes a reality. They have been relentless since they discovered the survivors location and their numbers are staggering, too much for one person to take. Brute force will not win this battle nor will running away do anything besides tire you out. This room is going to be your last stand and it WILL be your last moment alive. If you're going to die and become one of them, at least take several of these mindless bastards with you.

You put the last two shells in your shotgun and point it at the door.

'I'm ready.'

For information about the XForgery Halloween event and your chance to win 1600 Microsoft Points, check out the event page."

The Upper Echelon's Favorite Files Updated

Simple, sweet, and symmetrical.

The Upper Echelon returns for another round in the spotlight. For week two, they're talking about their Map Variant, Sand Gulch. It's so awesome, it took two people to get it into fighting shape. Read all about it.

Skitzo yo: To begin with, Dino's lack of wanting to play matchmaking and my fear of playing alone (lots of strangers on that there internet). I don't know about Dino, but I wanted something simple, sweet, and symmetrical.

Haloassassin92 (Dino): Well, when I first started working on it I wanted a good symmetrical big team map like Blood Gulch (hence the name) since all we had was Valhalla, Standoff, Avalanche and Rat's Nest. All good maps but I wanted more variety when I was playing squad battle (or was it rank big team battle at the time). One that was good for Slayer, CTF, Assault, Oddball, and King of the Hill.

Q. How long did you spend getting it into shape?

Skitzo yo: We might have different ideas on how long it took to create (Dino takes forever). I'm going to make a huge estimate and say three days. (Not three days straight though).

Haloassassin92: In total it took about a month. I started about ten days before Skitzo, working on the center and how the bases may look because I had the Mythic maps.

After he started to help it took another three days to get it to look good enough to get test played. We tested played it over and over and over with many people (most from atlas, others from other friends) asking for there feed back and editing the map little by little until it not only looked great but played great.

Q. What aspect took the longest to get right?

Skitzo yo: Trying to get the bases aligned and have similar proportions wasn't the funnest task ever.

Haloassassin92: For me the center, once we started working together getting the bases symmetrical (one of those times I would loved to have copy & paste).

Q. How could Forge be made mo better?

Haloassassin92: I would love to see a "click" option for moving objects so with one click the object rotates 90 degree so I can keep objects straight.

Skitzo yo: Copy & Paste? I've heard quite a few people complain about not being able to have one side of their "symmetrical" map, well...symmetrical to the other. Having copy/paste would help some of the more 1 sided thinkers. Copy/paste would also make Forging quicker and not such a tedious task. Take all that time to make one base and what next? Make it again...who has time for that? All that would be needed is to highlight the structure you want to duplicate, and as long as you have the budget and space...POOF! Twins.

Oh, and with copy and paste should come the rotate ability so both structures aren't pointing the same direction. The ability to drag multiple pieces instead of one at a time would of been nice too.
If you think it's a drag to have to read about Sand Gulch without getting to play it, no worries, The Upper Echelon slapped it in their favorites from last week. You can get it, and a whole new batch of Bungie Favorites right now. Nice guys, eh?

Top Ten Signs You May Be a Camper

Pitching a tent.

Hawty McBloggy ain't talking about the great outdoors. Her list covers players who set up shop online and make it their business to find the most comfortable spots on the map. That you? Find out by clicking on the link below.

Funny Halo 3 Fails and Laughs

Looking for a laugh? Tune into the montage below. Looking to get in on the action? Hit the channel and submit your own clips for contention.

"Funny Halo 3 Productions is back with yet another montage. This time more laughs and more the fails than ever before. Join with me for 10 minutes to witness the beauty of randomness and stupidity on Halo 3. Bungie has given us a truly amazing game with so many things you can do.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy a good ole montage from Funny Halo 3 Productions. If you like it, subscribe and keep up to date with more from Funny Halo 3 Productions. We'll be bringing to you many videos throughout the year including montages, clips, or even full length movies and films."

Xbox 360 Forum File Share Contest

Looks like more than a few people are looking to get in on the Halloween action. If you're looking to get in on some sweet prizes, here's another contest to check out.

"Over at Xbox360forum.com Saint TJ is hosting a File Share video and screenshot contest. The prizes include MS points, 3 month XBL gold, a few map packs, and maybe some other surprises. The deadline for the contest is October 24, with the winners being picked October 31. If your interested take a look at this thread for complete details and how to enter."

Monitors At The Ready

The fine folks over at Forge Cafe want you to get creative with Forge for Halloween. They have treats. Sound sweet? Check it out.

"Hello, my ghouls and ghosts. It is that time again. Forge Cafe is ready to throw another contest in your candy basket. Forget the Snickers and the Milky Ways, we got a treat that you are more than welcome indulge in. No chocolate, no vanilla wafers, and especially no caramel. No no, we made this treat just for you. You don't even need to dress up. Well, you can, but no bonus points for the hockey masks or the Chewbacca outfits. This is strictly business. (Sort of.)

If you are new to our contests, it's all good. I will break it down for you the same way you break down your stash of candy after a hard nights work. Separating the good stuff from the, well, the stuff the old lady gives you every year. You know, the candy apples, the petrified caramel corn, and especially the cookies that you swear she made from cement and wood. Nope, none of the nonsense, just the real deal.

We want to see you Forge your way into our nightmares, with a map based on this, the most frightening of holidays. Think you can scare us? Forge Cafe wants to see you create a map with Halloween in mind. Ghosts, witches, graveyards and zombies. Creative thinking will score you some cool prizes. The rules are rather simple, we are leaving this one up to you.

The Rules for our contest can be found at our group. Bring your monitor and your imagination, and let's see what you got."

'Forger's Cell' Forge Hub Puzzle

If you're looking to test your mind more than your mettle, you might want to take a look at the link below. There are no prizes and no prestige on offer. Just pride and and a series of puzzles to solve. Check it out.

"Not satisfied with his own hand in the recent Paratroxity, which set a new standard in complexity and design for truly great puzzle maps, buddhacrane decided to take the principle one step further. Though, perhaps further is the wrong word, for what we have here is set more at a strange tangent to previous puzzle maps than anything else, extending as it does in to the realms of something both familiar and strange at the same time, that is the Forge that we call home.

There is only one rule here, you must not leave the map geometry at any time. Beyond that, you are free to do as you wish, though tread carefully, a trigger happy item deletion could cost you dearly.

Forger's Cell sports 9 complete puzzles for you to master stage by stage, though the creator will tell you that a proficiency for puzzle maps of the past will do you few favors here. This is a true departure from the conventions of Halo 3 problem solving, exploiting the wealth of possibilities inherent in the Forge process to create something that not only challenges the mind, but puts everyone on an even footing as far as puzzle maps go.

Another ingenious aspect of this Forge-puzzle is the ability to unlock checkpoints as you solve the puzzles and actually save your progress as a new map, ready to be picked up again later without losing all your work."